


vi. i love you more

by icymapletree



Series: febuwhump/febufluff 2020 [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Febuwhump, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Loss of Powers, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Villain Harry Osborn, Whump, this was supposed to be a fluffy prompt but then my hand slipped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22587058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icymapletree/pseuds/icymapletree
Summary: “Wow, Peter, old buddy, old pal. I see you got my tip?” Harry says, turning around so his face isn't hidden by the shadows.Peter swallows. “That was you?”“It was. Never thought about where your friend Harry Osborn went? Or, I guess we weremorethan friends, right?”orPeter lost his powers, Tony's worried, and Harry holds a grudge.
Relationships: Past Harry Osborn/Peter Parker - Relationship, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: febuwhump/febufluff 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618837
Comments: 14
Kudos: 91





	vi. i love you more

**Author's Note:**

> the actual prompt was "i love you" "i love you more," but then it looked clunky in the title with the roman numerals so i modified it a bit. but this is the fill for that prompt!
> 
> i was planning on this fic being like 1k-2k words, but then it exploded, and i'm really happy with it.
> 
> also, a forewarning, the f slur is mentioned.
> 
> enjoy!

Peter’s skin has been buzzing with movement ever since he was a little kid. Before he could jump the height of a six story building, he had the energy to. 

He feels handicapped and useless now that’s he lost his powers. They went _dormant_ as Helen phrased it, and she has no idea why. 

Peter doesn’t know why Tony sticks around now that he can’t go on missions. He is waiting for Tony to stop talking to him - he’s so useless that he can’t even go swinging unless he wants his arm to rip out of its socket. 

He longs to feel useful again-- so he starts a job as a freelance photographer. That’s how he finds himself in his current situation, high up in an abandoned Oscorp building.

His parents used to work here, and he would spend many long hours running around with Harry Osborn-- the only other little boy who was stuck at the labs day in and day out. He hasn’t seen Harry in years, now that he thinks about it. It hurts to think about, it feels like touching an open wound.

They both went to the middle school that fed into Midtown High - Peter was there on a scholarship but Harry was the opposite - his dad made various donations to keep him enrolled. Harry never had any interest in a science career, but the boy didn’t fight against going to Midtown because that was where Peter was. It was always Harry and Peter, where the was one there was always the other. 

Harry graduated from Midtown Middle, but didn’t last a year at Midtown High. He was shipped off to a boarding school across the sea and his father didn’t even allow him to say goodbye to Peter.

Peter had held out hope that they would stay in touch even with the long distance - they had stayed friends long after Peter’s parents died and he had to stop coming to Oscorp.

They didn’t stay in touch - when he went away, Peter didn’t even know how to contact him.

Going through the hallways of Oscorp, it’s like walking through memory lane-- every room has a feeling associated with it. Peter shivers when he passes the lab where he was bitten by the spider, secretly willing another to drop down from the ceiling and bite him so he could return back to his version of normal.

As much as Tony bashes Oscorp, Peter has them to thank for most of the things in his life.

Peter is here on an anonymous tip - although he is almost one hundred percent sure that it is Sam’s doing. The man felt sympathy for Peter and his missing powers - they have the same itch under their skin to always be _doing_.

Sam always sends Peter to safe places to take pictures, so there must be nothing to worry about.

Still, he can’t shake the eerie feeling he gets as he turns the corner of the biological sciences hallway. There’s some sort of machine going, he can hear it creaking-- which means it must be loud, considering his spider hearing is gone.

It makes no sense for any machine to be operational though, this building was abandoned nearly two years ago. It’s only a waste of space, Peter reminds himself. The elevator didn’t even work.

But the lighting gets dimmer as he ventures further into the hallway. There are wisps of sound coming from behind a closed door at the end of the hall.

He presses himself tight against the wall and slinks forward, keeping a good grip on his camera.

With each step he takes, it’s easier to tell the sounds are definitely voices. They sound oddly familiar, but he pushes past it. It felt like he’d never reach the sources of the noise, but here he is, standing beside the entrance to the room.

Peter takes a deep breath and turns the handle. A figure leaps out of an open window, and he comes face to face with Harry Osborn. Harry turns his body to shut the window, but keeps his gaze on Peter.

“Wow, Peter, old buddy, old pal. I see you got my tip?”

Peter swallows. “That was you?”

“It was. Never thought about where your friend Harry Osborn went? Or, I guess we were _more_ than friends, right?”

Instinctively, Peter’s fingers dart up to his lips and he squeezes his eyes shut tight, trying to blink away the relic of his past. Harry was a part of his _before_ \-- he seems colored against a black and white background.

“Although, I talked to Betty. Seems that you only date girls now, anyway.”

They stare at each other for a second, but it could’ve been an hour. “You were different,” Peter says quietly.

“Different?” Harry laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Is that your way of saying that you pitied me?”

“I meant every bit of it, Hare. You know that.”

He thinks back to Betty’s fourteenth birthday party, playing seven minutes in heaven before any of them really knew what it meant. 

When Flash dared them to go in together, it didn’t seem wrong. It felt so right, even though it was just a kiss. It was like they finally had an explanation for their magnetic connection. 

That kiss blossomed into something more, a fumbling relationship kept mostly under wraps. It lasted until halfway through their freshman year - when Harry’s dad sent him away to boarding school.

It _was_ different - Peter had never felt that way about any of his other male friends. He’s thought about guys other than Harry. He’s thought about guys _a lot_ , but in terms of romantic partners, Harry was it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my first boyfriend, Peter Parker. And you know, sadly, he doesn’t have super strength anymore.”

“What-- what’re you talking about?”

“Are you forgetting I was there when you got bit, Peter? On the eighth grade field trip?” When Peter doesn’t answer, Harry rolls his eyes. “You missed school the next day, and next thing I know you have _abs _. My scrawny little boyfriend got abs overnight…”__

__He looks away before continuing. “Meanwhile, my father’s throwing a fit about the spider they lost, and a new superhero pops up-- named _Spider-Man_. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. But before I could confront you about it, I was sent away.”_ _

__“I missed you. I would’ve told you. I missed you so much it hurt.”_ _

__“Sure you did,” Harry shakes his head with a snort. “You never even wrote me back.”_ _

__“I didn’t get your letters,” Peter’s brows bounce together, “Harry, what is this really about?”_ _

__Harry takes a deep breath. “Ever since Spider-Man shut down this building, my father has carried so much hatred for him - _you_ \- that he doesn’t even bother to care that I got expelled from that stupid boarding school. I figured that if I could get rid of Spider-Man, then he would pay attention to me. And, bonus! I’d get to hurt the boy who hurt me. But, the disappearance of Spider-Man only made his obsession worse.”_ _

__“Why would you lure me here?”_ _

__“To make sure you know it was me who took away your precious powers. Besides, I figure you didn’t tell your new boyfriend where you were going.”_ _

__“New-- what?”_ _

__“Why, Tony Stark,” he smiles, “We did have the newspaper in that prison, you know. All the tabloids were talking about the Stark intern for months. And I suppose you remember Doctor Octavius? From the robotics division? He has quite a grudge against the man. Something about a patent of some sort-- I don’t really care, just that he’s willing to kill him.”_ _

__“Mr. Stark-- he’s not my… he doesn’t even know…”_ _

__“That you swing both ways? That’s a Spider-Man pun, by the way.”_ _

__Peter blinks. “I’ll ask you again: what do you want?”_ _

__“I want you to turn yourself in to my father. You ruined his life, Peter, the least you could do is improve mine.”_ _

__“Why don’t we, y’know, talk? It wasn’t personal, what Spider-Man did--”_ _

__“It wasn’t?”_ _

__“No! Of course not? Why would Mr. Osborn want me anyway? I don’t even have my powers anymore!”_ _

__“That’s why I’ve brought you here. Since Oscorp was shut down so fast, no one bothered to properly dispose of the creatures. I’ve got a spider here--” he opens a drawer, “--and just so you know, I’ve got Octavius positioned to kill your precious Tony Stark if you aren’t feeling up to it.”_ _

__“Bringing me to your father won’t make him pay attention to you.”_ _

__“What do you mean?”_ _

__“Harry, I know-- I _knew_ \-- you better than anyone else. No matter what you did, he didn’t listen.”_ _

__“Maybe he’ll listen to me this time.”_ _

__“No, no, he won’t. You’re going about this all the wrong way.”_ _

__“There’s a chance that I am. But you have your choices: get bit by the spider willingly or Tony gets killed-- and you get bit anyway.”_ _

__“You’re insane!” Peter shouts, but he considers his options. There’s a chance that Octavius isn’t even planted at Tony’s apartment. But there’s a higher chance that he is. The best option, though, is the one that provides no chance of harm to anyone but himself._ _

__“Okay,” he nods, “let it bite me.”_ _

__He breathes in deep, clenching and unclenching his fist as Harry handcuffs him into the chair and retrieves the spider. Harry lowers the bug onto his arm, and time seems to stop._ _

__

__**x** _ _

__

__Tony can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. The silent alarm went off about fifteen minutes ago, and despite a search from FRIDAY there were no conclusive finds._ _

__Peter is at Ned’s house, supposedly-- although he’s probably in Hell’s Kitchen trying to get a picture of Daredevil. Peter thinks he’s keeping his Bugle gig a secret - it’s like he doesn’t know that they print his name below the superhero pictures he takes._ _

__Either way, Tony tries to rationalize the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Nothing seems to work - all he is able to do is worry. Needing something to focus on, he has FRIDAY search security cameras for Peter._ _

__There are no finds at first, not until FRI goes back an hour in the footage from a camera out front of the old Oscorp building. They spot Peter heading in, but there’s no sign that he headed out._ _

__“FRIDAY, has he left yet?”_ _

__“ _It doesn’t appear that he has, boss._ ”_ _

__“Then I’m taking the suit. I’m gonna go find him”_ _

__“ _I highly advise against that because of the security breach earlier today--_ ”_ _

__“Mute,” he says, and it’s not long before he’s leaping out of the window and nanotech is spreading over his body._ _

__It’s not a long trip to Oscorp, but Tony can’t shake the feeling that he’s being followed._ _

__When he gets there, the feeling abates, but his stomach is still uneasy._ _

__“FRI, scan for Peter’s body heat.”_ _

__“ _There is a figure that matches Peter’s height and weight as well as his average body temperature on the seventh floor._ ”_ _

__

__Guided by the infrared map, he zips up to the closest seventh floor window and peeks in._ _

__It’s a lucky guess, Peter is in there - god, he looks so scrawny - and so is this the villain, who is about the same age as the kid. He’s monologuing, which means that Tony probably has some time. But not much, because he’s constantly reminded by his anxiety that Peter doesn’t have any powers._ _

__The kid, who Tony’s been able to identify as the Osborn heir from one too many company dinners, opens a drawer. Tony’s heart speeds up, but he doesn’t break in. He doesn’t have the vantage point to see behind Peter-- there might be someone positioned to hurt him if there’s a break in. Natasha’s voice rings in his ear, warning about jumping into the action too early._ _

__The Osborn kid - Harry, Tony thinks - handcuffs Peter into the chair, and Tony resists his primal urge to break through the window. It’s a miracle that nobody’s seen him yet._ _

__Peter’s getting a spider lowered onto his arm, and Tony has a brief moment of relief - he’s hopeful that they might be trying to _help_ him - but then those thoughts are chased away when a metal hand is clamped around his own neck._ _

__Tony gasps for air as a scream echoes in the background - _Peter’s_ scream. The edges of his vision get fuzzy, if only he could force air back into his lungs, reach Peter, _Peter’s_ the most important right now--_ _

__He remembers he has weapons, and blasts the man controlling the metal arms._ _

__It feels like it’s the first breath he’s ever taken-- he’s forcing so much oxygen into his chest._ _

__His body is screaming, fatigued from being choked, but then he heads full force into the window like a battering ram._ _

__Peter’s still shouting - these high pitched, piercing noises - and his face is purple. He’s straining so hard against the handcuffs, but there’s no way he’ll get out of them without super strength._ _

__“Hang in there, Pete!” Tony yells, but he’s not sure that Peter can hear him over his screams._ _

__Harry is cowering in the back of the room, shaking despite his conspicuous grin. Tony is like a predator, silently and quickly cornering him, his hand going up to meet Harry’s throat._ _

__“What did you do to him?”_ _

__Harry smiles._ _

__“ _What did you do?_ ” Tony yells, this time it’s more of a snarl._ _

__“I took away his powers, and now I’m giving them back.”_ _

__“Why the _fuck_ would you do that?”_ _

__The little shit shrugs, but Tony’s grip increases around his throat. He coughs, but then starts talking._ _

__“My father has hated Spider-Man since he got this building shut down-- so much so that he doesn’t even care when I’m home. I thought that I could get his attention if Spider-Man went away. But it didn’t work, so I’m trying a different approach.”_ _

__“That didn’t answer my question.”_ _

__Harry never did answer his question, but the snap of the handcuffs behind him did._ _

__“Mr. Stark,” Peter rasps, “I think I’m back.”_ _

__Tony smiles at Peter, then socks Harry upside the face, knocking him out._ _

__“Hey!” Peter yells, “Don’t hurt him, please.”_ _

__“Let’s get out of here, okay? We’ll give him to the police. He deserves to rot in a jail cell because of what he did to you.”_ _

__Peter stands up. “Mr. Stark--”_ _

__“I don’t care whatever justification you have for his actions--”_ _

__“ _Mr. Stark._ ”_ _

__“...What?”_ _

__“He’s my ex-boyfriend, okay? He just needs, like, a slap on the wrist or something.”_ _

__“He’s your _what_ now?” Tony shakes his head. “You mean to tell me that Norman and I were _this_ close to merging our companies and I didn’t even know about it?”_ _

__“Not the time, Tony!”_ _

__“You know what, you’re right. A slap on the wrist doesn’t even begin cover--”_ _

__He’s interrupted by the sound of shattering glass behind Peter. This man - the one who choked Tony - has come in from a different window than Tony did - for dramatic effect, Tony supposes._ _

__It takes a split second for Peter to duck, attempting to fire webs at the man, who is outfitted in a vest with robot arms - but of course, Peter’s motions have no effect without his web shooters._ _

__“Catch!” Tony shouts at the kid, tossing him newly formed nanotech web shooters._ _

__“Thanks man!”_ _

__They fight back to back, Peter faring surprisingly well for someone who just had his DNA fundamentally changed for the second time that month._ _

__“Do you even know this guy?” Tony yells, using his repulsors to blast Doctor Octavius’ arms._ _

__“Who, Otto?” Peter shouts, running behind Tony, “He used to work for my parents!”_ _

__“Wait, wait, wait-- your parents worked for Norman?”_ _

__“Once again, not the time, Mr. Stark!”_ _

__“Okay, okay, I’ll press you about this later--”_ _

__Peter sticks his hands to the ceiling, using his leverage to kick Otto in the chest. He grabs one of the arms and it crushes easily._ _

__“Nice!” Tony yells as he rips off an arm that he had gotten ahold of._ _

__Otto gets smarter, attacking from a distance with some projectiles. He doesn’t say much, seemingly fighting with his focus solely on Tony._ _

__Peter fires webs at the battery pack running Octavuis’ suit, but it does nothing so he and Tony go back to dismantling it arm by arm. For some reason, it takes Peter more effort to tear off the last arms than it did the first few._ _

__And, finally, Otto is just a man. A man who gets knocked out by a punch from Iron Man. Tony heads over to Harry, who has woken up. Peter holds up a hand. “He’s mine.”_ _

__Tony looks from Peter to Harry, then back to Peter. “Okay,” he says, even though his body language reads that he absolutely _does not_ want to leave Peter with Harry._ _

__When Tony turns the corner, Peter spits blood on the floor and looks at Harry. “What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?”_ _

__“What do you mean? You got your powers back, Peter, what more do you want?”_ _

__“You’re an asshole!”_ _

__“ _I’m_ the asshole? Who’s the one who never tried to contact me?”_ _

__“I did, Harry! God, I hate that I loved you. It’s not like if I asked your dad he’d tell me your address! He always used to call me a faggot anyway. I get that I should’ve tried harder, but--”_ _

__“At least I have a dad.”_ _

__“You know, Harry, that was a low blow that doesn’t even ring true for me anymore.”_ _

__“Oh, are you talking about _Tony Stark_? He’s gonna leave you, you know, once he finds out that you’re a failure who can’t even go on Avengers missions.”_ _

__At Peter’s blank stare, Harry smiles. “Just you wait.”_ _

__He doesn’t waste any more time, he hoists Harry up by the shoulders and drags him down the stairs. Harry spews bullshit the whole way down._ _

__When they reach the streets, Peter practically throws him at the waiting police officers. “He’s all yours,” Peter mumbles._ _

__They promptly handcuff him. He’s bloody and bruised, grinning at Peter as the cops shut the car door._ _

__“Just you wait!” Harry yells through the glass._ _

__Peter shakes his head, the red and blue lights fading as the police car heads down the street._ _

__Tony stands right behind him, offering a hug with open arms. He wouldn’t usually display this type of emotion in front of Tony, but everything hurt so bad-- Peter takes the opportunity and sobs into Tony’s shoulder. The man pats him on the back, mumbling reassurances._ _

__When they seperate, Peter wipes his bloody nose, feeling really weak all of a sudden. It’s like the strength that he was just given is being taken back. His knees start to shake, and it isn’t long until he’s face planting into the concrete._ _

__

__**x** _ _

__

__Peter’s stuck in that world between conscious and unconscious. He doesn’t fully wake up as quickly as usual - for some reason his powers are gone again - but he can hear Tony and Helen talking, even though their voices are fuzzy._ _

__“They were temporary?” Tony asks._ _

__“As far as I can tell, yes. Harry Osborn wasn’t able to successfully recreate the spider that bit Peter. He did try to cause permanent damage, but due to the radiation already present in Peter, it didn’t take hold.”_ _

__Peter shifts in the bed, and Helen and Tony’s eyes turn to meet him._ _

__“Good morning, sleeping beauty.”_ _

__Peter groans, rubbing at his eyes and blinking like this is the first time he’s seeing anything._ _

__“Welcome back.”_ _

__“Hi,” he says, his voice heavy with sleep. “Temporary, huh?”_ _

__“Uh, yeah,” Tony rubs the back of his neck. “That little shit screwed with your DNA pretty good.”_ _

__Peter stretches his arms above his head with a yawn. “They’ll be back though, right?”_ _

__“Maybe-- uh, we’re not really sure.”_ _

__Tony watches the relief rise in his eyes, then sees it morph to hurt. He wants to ask Peter if he’s okay, which is a stupid question, he knows Peter just went through _a lot._ But, it might not hurt to try to get him to talk. That’s what parents are supposed to do, right?_ _

__“Do you want to talk?” Tony asks. It sounds stupid, now that’s he’s said it._ _

__“Not really.”_ _

__Tony sighs. “You don’t have to talk about the Harry stuff if you don’t want to. But there’s been something else going on, buddy.”_ _

__“It’s just with my powers gone...” he trails off._ _

__“I know it really sucks. But we’ll get through it, I promise.”_ _

__“No, no, it’s not that.” Peter takes a deep breath. “I’ve been wondering how much longer you’ll stick around since, I, you know--” he waves a hand, “--can’t do anything for the Avengers anymore.”_ _

__“What do you mean, Peter?”_ _

__“I can’t go on missions, I’m practically useless--”_ _

__“I’m gonna stop you right there-- you are _not_ useless. I keep you around because I like to be around you. You’re like my son, with or without your powers... I love you, okay? I could never forgive myself if something happened to you,” Tony says, and Peter stares at him for a second, blinking slowly. _ _

__“I love you more,” Peter says._ _

__“You-- what? Typically you say, ‘I love you too.’”_ _

__“Shh. I have a concussion.”_ _

__“You’re probably not gonna remember this then, huh?”_ _

__“Oh, I will. FRIDAY, don’t you ever let me forget.”_ _

__“ _Will do, Peter._ ”_ _

__“See?” the kid grumbles, “won’t forget.”_ _

__“Well, get some sleep. I have a surprise for when you wake up. And, for the record, I think I love _you_ more.”_ _

__Peter barely registers those words before he slips back into unconsciousness._ _

__

__**x** _ _

__

__“You think he’s gonna like it, May?”_ _

__“Of course he will. He’s pretended to be in one of those tin cans ever since he was a little boy.”_ _

__Peter’s eyes snap open. It seems that he is interrupting something._ _

__“Can I help you?” he asks with a trembling smile. Harry is still in the back of his mind - his warning, but it is forgotten when Tony smiles - one of his real smiles, not one of the ones he wears for the press._ _

__“Uh, yeah, actually, we have something for you.” Tony pulls his phone out of his pocket, and flips it to make it display a three dimensional blueprint._ _

__“What is it?”_ _

__“It’s the, uh, the Iron Spider. Your own Iron Man suit.”_ _

__Peter’s jaw drops. “What-- no way, you can’t be, you can’t be serious.”_ _

__“I’m very serious… May and I decided that since your powers won’t be back for awhile, you should have a way to be able to protect Queens in the meantime.”_ _

__Peter’s eyes widen, and he looks at May for confirmation but she just nods._ _

__“When you’re well enough to get out of this bed, how about you take it for a spin with your good old mentor, huh?”_ _

__“I’d love nothing more.”_ _

__The incident with Harry isn’t forgotten, it’s just put behind him-- as much as it hurts, he has so many better people in his life. He finds himself thinking about what could’ve been, but then he gets so wrapped up in his next adventure that it seems like he can’t find time to care._ _

__It isn’t long before Peter is taking to the streets of Queens again, Tony by his side a lot of the time. Most kids would be annoyed if their parent followed them the way Tony follows Peter, but Peter finds himself enjoying the time they spend together._ _

__The suit isn’t the same as his webs, but it’s one way to relieve the itch under his skin._ _

**Author's Note:**

> this was spawned by the "there's no way peter parker is heterosexual" post on tumblr, and the amazing work gruoch has done this past month. she is the QUEEN of soft comic crossovers.
> 
> also, ah! harry's motivation doesn't make much sense. i'll blame it on the nyquil.
> 
> thank you for reading!! come talk to me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/icymapletree)!


End file.
